I dedicate this book to the memory of my daughter Kelly and to my Mother and Father who loved and supported me through thick and thin. My father was an incredible influence and an absolute inspiration in my life while my mother gave me the belief that nothing was impossible and there is no such word as can’t. I am indeed so proud to have been the son of Mark and Maudie Hines.
This has been a fantastic journey over many decades and many wonderful people have touched my life in so many ways on the track, in the world of business and in life itself.
It would be easy to overlook an individual so in fear of doing this I would like to say a heartfelt global thank you to every single one of you, with special thanks going to my loyal team of staff at Zip Kart, my wife Tina, son Luke and daughter Tuesday, who all have to put up with me every day!
This indeed has been a testing experience for my memory and the stories I have told are exactly as my mind recalls them so any mistakes are down to my overstressed memory.
My thanks go to Richard Coomber, my ghost-writer, who made this story of my life an absolute pleasure to script. I have promised Richard we will not leave it so long before we start on the next book.
Also a big thank you to Rocky and Pam, because without them this book would never have happened.
We must not forget to mention all the photographers that we have used work from, they are all friends and I would not want to leave them out: Fred Scatley, Maureen McGee, Doug Rees, Chris Dixon, Chris Walker, Mark Burgess and Erick Severe. My special thanks to Mark Burgess of Karting Magazine for supplying items from their archives that helped replenish my memory, likewise Eric Severe of Media Superkart.
Contents
Title Page
Forewords
1: You Never Forget Your First Time
2: I Start Racing – Pigeons
3: Skid Kids and Bingo
4: Low-cc but High-Octane Fun
5: A Member of the Warren Street Boys
6: Crisps and a Silver Coke Bottle
7: A Nickel or Two in the Jukebox
8: With Just a Spanner and a Hammer
9: Dented Pride Restored by Rocket Man
10: What Were my Times Like?
11: Just Sit at Woodcote and Watch
12: Pose for the Camera, Pick up the Dosh
13: 100 m.p.h. Average Wins over ‘Mr Silverstone’
14: Beware Kiwi Bottle Shops – You Can Lose Your Shirt
15: No, Thanks – I’d Rather Watch a Horror Film
16: The Nero of Silkeborg
17: Beating the Odds – Indoors and Out
18: Can’t Swim, Can’t Run, but What a Rower!
19: I Was That Gangster
20: Concussion and Confrontation
21: Hammer Blow after Hammer Blow
22: Why?
23: I Meant to Tell You Not to do Stomach Crunches
24: This One’s for You, Dad
25: Cheat!
26: A Stunning Drive by Hines – Luke Hines
27: Young Guns
28: By Appointment
29: And This is Gary
30: Ron, I’d Like You to Meet Lewis Hamilton
31: Now That’s What I Call a Party
32: Upside Down and Nowhere to Go
33: What if I Told You We’re Buying a Racing Car?
34: Putting Zip into Single-Seaters
35: OK, We’ll Do it Ourselves
36: Old Men Don’t Make Comebacks – or Do They?
37: Hines versus Kleppe: the Rematch
38: A Kick in the Bollocks can Break your Heart
39: Watch This Space
Copyright
I don’t remember when I first met Martin Hines but for sure it was several years after I first observed the ‘King of Karting’ round the many long circuit racetracks of the UK, places such as Donington Park and Silverstone. I would see the super-slick Zip Kart team and the permanently tanned Martin winning another GP plate.
He was like a hero figure to a young lad making his way up the junior formula and at that time I wanted nothing more from my career than to be like him. I didn’t think about car racing or Formula One. Why would I when he appeared to have it all, winning races in the fastest 250cc superkarts and running a successful business producing karts for each formula below that?
As you can imagine from what I have written above, I was in awe of Martin and the way he ran his business. Therefore, you can also guess how it was finally to be introduced to him after a couple of years and then, a few more years down the line, to race for his Zip Kart team in Junior Britain through 1987 and 1988 and to win the championship for him.
A friendship was formed that has endured until today, despite the fact that my career has taken me into car racing, leaving karting behind. But kart racers stick together like a big family, and it doesn’t matter how long it is since you raced